Very Low Fertility Consequences, Causes and Policy Approaches

Introduction This paper addresses the issue of very low fertility in countries with advanced economies including its consequences and its causes. It ends with a discussion of policy approaches to reverse very low fertility. Very low fertility is defined as being fertility sustained for a long period below 1.5 births per woman. It is recognized that annual fertility rates are affected by changes in the timing of births (tempo effects) and may fall temporarily below 1.5 births per woman. It is important to recognize tempo effects but it is difficult to estimate their impact on lifetime fertility because, where births are delayed, many may never occur even though there was an intention to have these births. Even the strongest intentions can fade with changes in the life circumstances of the woman and her partner.